Brad Stine

Brad Stine (born 1960Adam Green, [http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/040809fa_fact STANDUP FOR THE LORD] the New Yorker, 2004-08-02] ) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and author. Relatively unknown until 2003, Stine first gained exposure when he "came out" as a conservativeCatherine Donaldson-Evans, [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,131021,00.html Growing Group of Comedians Veer Right] ,FoxNews.com Foxlife, September 01, 2004] Christian on his debut album, "Put a Helmet On!"

Biography

Early life

Stine was born and raised in Bremen, Indiana, by Jerry and Nancy Stine. His father was an auto-body repairman and front man for a local musical combo called the Regents and his mother was a housewife. He has three siblings, and he is the second eldest.

Stine's parents divorced when he was eight, but they later remarried and moved to California, only to divorce once again. He stayed with his father, who briefly left the auto-body business to travel with his brother to carnivals in the Midwest. His father later remarried and returned to his previous work.

Early career

Stine started practicing magic tricks at age 13, which later led to his performing magic in Southern California bars and restaurants. Stine also learned to perform sideshow stunts and began honing his comedy skills.

In the late 1980s, Stine was hired by a manager and toured colleges across the country with comedians Craig Anton and Emery Emery. His first television appearance was on Showtime’s "Comedy Club Network."

Stine continued to work in comedy clubs and on TV, and eventually dropped his magic tricks and stunts. He started taking acting lessons and auditioned for movies and television shows. On the advice of a fellow comic, he eventually made his Christian faith and conservatism the focus of his act.

Personal life

Stine lives in Brentwood, Tennessee, with his wife Desiree, and their two children.Bob Faw, [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week839/profile.html Christian Comedian Brad Stine] PBS' "Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, May 27, 2005]

Comedic style

Stine's style has been described by "Newsweek" as "aggressive" with a "rat-a-tat delivery" and by "The New Yorker" as "frantic, aggressive, and caustic, with echoes of Robin Williams, Sam Kinison, and George Carlin." However, unlike these and a lot of other comedians, Stine does not use profanity or sexual humor because of his Christian faith.NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3886002 Christian Comedian Brad Stine] , "Fresh Air from WHYY" audio interview, September 2, 2004] He has been described as "a clean Denis Leary" and his material targets "liberals, humanists, political correctness and judgmental Christians."Milwaukee Journal Sentinal, [http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=555750 A guy walks into a church…] , Jan. 23, 2007] Stine has admitted, however, that his conservatism has sometimes resulted in the loss of appearances.ABC News, [http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/politics&id=5041372 Coulter, Limbaugh Team Up For Comedy Show] , February 17, 2007]

Major appearances

Stine has appeared on several stand-up comedy shows, such as A&E’s "Evening at the Improv" and MTV's "Half Hour Comedy Hour," and has appeared on news programs such as FOX News' "Hannity & ColmesFOX News, [http://www.bradstine.com/pr/documents/BSHannityandColmes9-6-04transcript.pdf Transcript (PDF format)] , "Hannity & Colmes", September 6, 2004] ," CNN's "Paula Zahn NOWCNN, [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0408/11/pzn.00.html Transcript] , "Paula Zahn NOW", August 11, 2004] " and "Glenn BeckCNN, [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/06/gb.01.html Transcript] , "Glenn Beck", June 06, 2006] ," and the NBC Nightly News. Stine has also been interviewed on National Public RadioNPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3879235 Live from New York: Comedy at the GOP Convention] , "Talk of the Nation" audio interview, August 30, 2004] and has been featured on FOXNews.com and in NewsweekEileen Finan, [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15488905/site/newsweek/ Real Men Talk About God] Newsweek Web Exclusive, Oct 30, 2006] , the New Yorker, USA Today, and several other newspapers nationwide. He was a featured performer for Promise Keepers in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2007. Also in 2004, he performed for "R: the Party," a party hosted by Jenna and Barbara Bush during the Republican National Convention in New York City.

GodMen

Inspired by author David Murrow,Brandon O'Brien, [http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/april/27.48.html A Jesus for Real Men] , Christianity Today, 4/18/2008] Stine founded GodMen, a proposed alternative to Promise Keepers that emphasizes "spiritual masculinity."Anita Wadhwani, [http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061026/NEWS06/610260397/1023/NEWS Spiritual event wants GodMen, not girly men] , The Tennessean, 10/26/06] GodMen's inaugural event was held on October 28, 2006, in Nashville, Tennessee, and drew 200 men.Jenny Jarvie and Stephanie Simon, [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-godmen7dec07,0,5040895.story?coll=la-home-headlines Manliness is next to godliness] , Los Angeles Times, December 7, 2006] Their second event was held on March 10, 2007,Paul Coughlin, [http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/PCoughlin/11530152/ New Male Spirit] , Crosswalk.com, Feb 21, 2007] in rented space at a Franklin, Tennessee, mallABC News, [http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2953421 Group Advocates Macho Christianity] , March 15, 2007] and drew about 300 men.ABC News, [http://www.abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2951718&page=1 Christian Men...Too Wimpy?] , March 15, 2007] Many more events are scheduled for 2007 and 2008. [http://www.godmen.org/events.htm Godmen Events] ]

Acting work

Stine has appeared in minor roles in a handful of big and small screen movies.Brad Stine's page on [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0830407/ the Internet Movie Database] ]

Multimedia

Brad Stine currently has two books and four performance videos/recordings available.

Books

*cite book
last =
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title = Being a Christian Without Being an Idiot
publisher = Word Distribution. (Oct 2004)
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id = ISBN 5-556-25453-2

*cite book
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title = Live from Middle America: Rants from a Red-State Comedian
publisher = Hudson Street Press. (Mar 2006)
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id = ISBN 1-59463-015-1

Videos/recordings

*cite video
people =
title = Brad Stine - Put A Helmet On!
medium = DVD, VHS, Audio CD
publisher = Word Distribution. (2003)
location =
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*cite video
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title = Brad Stine - Conservative Unleashed
medium = DVD, VHS, Audio CD
publisher = Word Entertainment. (Oct 2004)
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*cite video
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title = Brad Stine - Tolerate This!
medium = DVD, Audio CD
publisher = Warner Bros. (Aug 2005)
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*cite video
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title = Brad Stine - "Wussification"
medium = DVD, Audio CD
publisher = Word Entertainment. (Sept 2007)
location =
date =

References

External links

* [http://www.bradstine.com/ Brad Stine's official website]
* [http://bradstine.blogware.com/ Brad Stine's Blog Nation]
* [http://www.godmen.org/index.html GodMen website]
* [http://www.godmen.org/blog/blog.html GodMen Blog]
* [http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2007/02/mike_warnke_and.html Brad mentioned in The History of Christian Stand-up Comedy]
* [http://www.joecookprogram.com/brad-stine-interview Interview with Brad Stine on The Joe Cook Program]